Category: Outreach

Eleven (11) NCRA members have submitted ballot statements to serve on the 2020 NCRA Board of Directors. There are six (6) positions to fill. Voting opens November 15, 2019, and ends December 4, 2019, at 11:59 pm.

Custom voting links will be emailed to members on November 15th. If you do not receive our email but believe you should (i.e. your membership is current as of November 15, 2019), please email the office and we will email the link again.

CANDIDATES for 2020 NCRA BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Susan Blachman (Incumbent), member since 2011

I am running for re-election to the NCRA board in order to help NCRA better support our members, further promote zero food waste and generally serve this great organization.

I arranged for NCRA to receive assistance from UC Berkeley’s Haas Business School’s Berkeley Board Fellows (BBF) program, which matches graduate-level students with relevant non-profits. We are working with our two BBFs to refine their scope of work focused on evaluating how NCRA can better serve our members and expand our outreach. I am the primary board mentor to our Fellows and would appreciate your vote in supporting my continued commitment to this effort.

In 2014, inspired by the Zero Food Waste Forum, I helped establish NCRA’s Zero Food Waste Committee, contributed to producing the Commercial Food Waste Reduction in Alameda County report, and in 2018 led our Zero Food Waste Committee in organizing the second Zero Food Waste Forum. This year Portia Sinnot and I hosted NCRA’s first-ever Zero Food Waste Webinar. If re-elected, I will continue to support NCRA’s zero food waste education programming, including sharing local jurisdictions’ SB1383 best compliance strategies.

Thank you for allowing me to serve on the NCRA board; I would be honored if you would vote for me.

Tim Dewey-Mattia (Incumbent)

I’m happy to submit my statement for reelection to the NCRA Board.

I was first elected to the NCRA Board 4 years ago, and I kindly ask the membership for a chance to serve another term.  I’m the Recycling & Public Education Manager for Napa Recycling & Waste Services. Napa Recycling is the local franchise hauler in Napa, as well as the operator of Napa’s Recycling & Composting Facility (come visit if you’ve never been!).

I got my start in Zero Waste over 20 years ago – first with the Middlebury College recycling program, and then for non-profit recycling organizations in San Francisco.  I’ve been at Napa Recycling for 14 years and work on all aspects of program development, implementation and outreach…plus I talk about earthquakes, chickens & fires at Recycling Update.

As NCRA board member and co-chair of the Outreach & Activities Committee, I’ve helped coordinate events, organize facility tours, & fundraise for Recycling Update.  I believe NCRA can and should be a leader on the many hot topics of the day, including increasing organics diversion through more infrastructure and program participation, finding sustainable solutions to the current recycling market woes, and supporting the Zero Waste industry going forward.

NCRA and our members are Zero Waste pioneers, and I am honored to help carry that forward.   We are a collaborative, exciting, and down-to-earth bunch, and I’d be pleased to continue to serve on the Board.

Alexandra Hoffman-Bradley (Incumbent)

My passion for recycling ignited when I won a school contest for the launch of CRV recycling in the ’80s.

Since that time I’ve sought to spark that passion in others.

I began my Zero Waste career as a Recycling Coordinator for Waste Management in 2008. I later worked in electronics recycling, then for a non-profit working on getting textiles out of landfill. I’m adept at grant writing. I was awarded and then managed two SFE Zero Waste grants totaling $100,000. This year I achieved my dream of getting a position in public service, working for the County of Alameda’s Zone 7 Water Agency where I manage strategic communications, education and public outreach. I’m excited to transfer my skills in communication and community engagement to help widen NCRA’s message to a greater audience.

I’ve loved serving on the board the past 4 ½ years. I’ve served on the ZW Advocacy Committee and I’m the Co-Chair of the Activities Committee playing a large role in organizing mixers, mentorships, tours, and RU. I ensure everyone is fed and happy at our events.

I appreciate your continued support and faith in my ability to represent you through my service on the Board.

Jim Knight

I humbly submit my candidacy to join the NCRA Board, in service to expand and broaden your educational outreach and also help grow your current NCRA members and future new partnerships.

As a Zero Waste advocate and online educator, I bring the ability to help you educate young and old alike regarding the importance of not only recycling but doing it in all the right ways using instructional videos and other educational content.

Retired K12 Teacher and CoFounder of Digital Learning Tree in Silicon Valley

http://digitallearningtree2.com/course-marketplace/

I would appreciate the chance to offer my extensive background and experience as an educator and entrepreneur to your NCRA board as an experienced, passionate, creative person to help you in any way I can expand your outreach and educational needs moving forward.

If elected to your Board  my goals would be to:

• Expand your Education and Training Outreach with my Online Course Development Skills and background and CoFounder of Digital Learning Tree.

• Facilitate new and creative ways the growth of your membership with my Business Skills and background in Silicon Valley.
• Develop new partnerships with related organizations to deepen and expand your current outreach and membership.

David Krueger (Incumbent)

I am submitting my candidacy for the NCRA Board of Directors.  It has been an honor to serve on the Board since 2015, contributing first as the Treasurer and this year as the President.  I have nearly 30 years of professional experience in the recycling industry, having worked for a college recycling program, local governments, consulting firms, and a private recycling facility.  I am currently the Environmental Programs Manager for the City of San Ramon where we are implementing a new franchise agreement that will provide organics recycling services to all generators and aims to be one of the first SB 1383 compliant programs in the State.

I welcome the opportunity to help build upon NCRA’s successful history as leaders in the Zero Waste movement.  NCRA has increased its reputation and influence over the years and built strong alliances with like-minded organizations.  The next step for NCRA is to become even more effective at advocating for laws and policies that reduce waste, such as the elimination of single-use disposable plastics. NCRA already provides excellent educational, information-sharing, and networking opportunities to its members, and I will work to expand those, such as NCRA’s co-sponsorship of the 2020 National Zero Waste Conference in Berkeley. I am committed to NCRA being an open, growing, inclusive organization that welcomes diversity of all kinds, including diversity of opinion. I will work with the Board to find more ways to actively involve our membership, and to support NCRA members in obtaining the knowledge, tools, and contacts they need to further their Zero Waste goals,  One of my goals is to expand NCRA geographically beyond it’s East Bay core and sponsor more activities for our members throughout all of Northern California. I look forward to continuing working with you all in our shared commitment to Zero Waste. I humbly ask for your vote.

Shova Ale Magar

I am submitting my candidacy for the NCRA board. I have six years of experience in the waste reduction field, ranging from working for an electronics recycling startup to the largest waste hauler in the country, and serving the County of San Mateo as a Sustainability Specialist to increase their waste reduction efforts.

One of my projects at the County of San Mateo is exploring proper disposal methods for difficult to recycle items such as solar panels.  Effective January 1, 2020, all new homes in California are required to be equipped with a solar electric system. The average lifespan for solar panels is 10 – 15 years; however, there is currently no infrastructure for recycling these panels, resulting in the stockpiling and illegal disposal of them.

We need a policy change and market to properly recycle solar panels. The way to get there is by connecting producers, policymakers, consumers, and recyclers. As a board member, I will start conversations on solar panel recycling at NCRA events including the annual RU conference. Success means keeping toxic materials from entering landfills and reusing valuable resources.

Public agencies like NCRA are in a unique position to bring diverse groups together to solve environmental issues. I see this every day in my work as a Sustainability Specialist on the County of San Mateo’s Waste Reduction Team. I am excited to bring my skills, experience, and network to the NCRA board.

John Moore (Incumbent)

In my 12 years on the Board, I have consistently advocated for a younger leadership group. Watching the third-grade class from Oxford School in Berkeley tell the City Council how much they personally reduced their waste ( one half mason jar per class per year)tells me we are on the right track. But we need to do more advocacy and engage more members to help reduce and reverse climate change and plastic pollution. If elected, that is what I will work on. John

Nicole Panditi

With gratitude, I submit myself for consideration for the Board of Directors. I hope to bring energy, diligence, and a fresh perspective to the important duties involved. Although I just recently made my membership official, you may remember me from the 2018 Recycling Update conference, where I presented about my initiative to recycle 3D printing waste at the UC Berkeley Zero Waste Research Center. After graduation, I continued to push for positive waste-stream change. In my current role as a Technician at the campus maker space in Jacobs Hall, I am spearheading efforts to introduce reusable, green and recyclable materials for students’ projects. Outside of work, I have served as the Waste Manager for several housing co-ops. In all, I am familiar with both the micro and the macro experience of waste stream management.

If elected to the Board, I would:

1.   Prioritize waste reduction efforts, as reducing waste is almost always lower-impact than processing it later. This may include letters to decision-makers and industry players expressing support for waste reduction measures.
2.     Support environmental justice and equity
3.     In recognition of recent shifts in recycling infrastructure, and the resultant public confusion, support efforts to clarify the recycling process and educate the public. Thank you.

Kerry Parker

I would be honored to be considered for a term on the NCRA Board to lend a hand in our work toward source reduction in the region.

For almost 13 years I have been a NCRA member whilst working as a zero waste specialist for the City of Alameda, running myriad programs to change habits and minds of how to consume less and reuse more.  Over the years I’ve found myself figuring out how to track Alameda’s construction and demolition (C&D) debris better, designed an internal program to certify Alameda’s city facilities as Green Businesses, and led the team that updated Alameda’s Zero Waste Implementation Plan in 2018.

I rewrote Alameda’s 2008 polystyrene ban in 2017 with a plan to simply reduce the use of plastic straws in the Island City and instead found myself on a regional team of brilliant minds working to figure out how to talk Californians out of their disposable addictions.

I geek out on the ins and outs of reusable infrastructure, co-conspire to outlaw cigarette butts, and am constantly dreaming of new and approachable ideas of how we can respond to zero waste issues regionally.  I would be thrilled to perform this role for the NCRA Board.

Annette Poliwka

San Francisco’s goal of Zero Waste was the reason why I moved here right after college. Through AmeriCorps, I dedicated a year of driving a truck, picking up recyclables, sorting them, and selling them back on the market.  This hands-on and dirty experience was probably my favorite job of all time.

Since then, I’ve worked for SF Environment on both the School Education and Commercial Zero Waste teams. At the USEPA in both Washington DC, I focused on international sustainability & e-waste, and while in New York City (Region 2), for the political appointee, launching Trash Free Waters.

Since returning to the SF Bay Area, I’ve Chair-ed the California Sustainable Business Technical Council for CRRA, was a juror for Think Beyond Plastic, an accelerator to harness innovation & entrepreneurship to address global challenges with plastic pollution, and am on the Berkeley Zero Waste Commission, serving on the Single-Use Disposables, Education & Outreach Subcommittees.

I want to serve on the board to foster interest and further development and implementation of zero waste principles and best practices, as the Bay Area has long been a leader and trend-setter for recycling, regeneration, and innovation.

Portia Sinnott, member since 1980

I believe NCRA’s close-knit progressive membership, innovative programming, legislative efforts and its willingness to rock boats are some of the reasons California leads the country in high diversion and Zero Waste.

In the last decade we have made great organizational strides – attracting a younger and more diverse board and membership, developing an eye-catching user-friendly website and newsletter and expanding from Recycling Update to Zero Waste Week, as well as improving our methods of operating, staffing and outreach. I am proud to say that I had a hand in all of these efforts.

Important innovations continue to be needed – such as developing meaningful social justice and DEI policies and procedures, getting our mentorship program rolling, holding meetings to discuss and debate new and controversial topics, expanding committee membership (yes you!) so the Board can organize less/lead more, and to systematically reach out to entry-level recycling and reuse workers.

A long-term advocate-consultant and non-profit director, I was the NCRA president during much of the 1980s. I rejoined the board in 2010, became the NCRA News editor and webmaster in 2011 and served as VP from 2012-2015. I currently co-teach Introduction to Recycling and co-lead the new DEI Committee.

Ready to serve again, I would appreciate your vote.